Chandigarh: The long standing dream of the city to make it to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) heritage list seemed to be doomed to wither on the vine once again.

Even as the Administration is claiming to be toiling hard for drafting fresh dossier to be sent to the UNESCO, their chances to succeed remains bleak. 

The Union Territory administration sources said that the officials from Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which is the nodal agency for sending Indian entries to the UNESCO, has evinced hesitation for proceeding Chandigarh’s nomination to the UNESCO this time.

A team from the ASI recently met UT top brass and the issue of UNESCO heritage status was taken up during the meeting. The officials from ASI had also visited various architectural masterpieces in Capitol Complex, designed by French Architect Le Corbusier.

The sources said, although the ASI officials were all praises for the architectural landmarks of the Capitol Complex but at the same time, they were uncertain about forwarding Chandigarh’s dossier as India’s official entry for UNESCO heritage status this year.

According to the sources, an ASI official has informed the top brass of UT administration that nominations from India for UNESCO heritage status has already been selected by ASI and it would be difficult to let in Chandigarh’s claim for UNESCO’s heritage status for next year.

In addition, the UT administration is not active in preparing a fresh dossier showcasing the unique architecture and urban planning of the City Beautiful.